I just think that this is a cracking piece of art work by the mighty Joe Murtagh. It is Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt as Vince Noir and Howard Moon from The Mighty Boosh.
January is the month of interviews it seems (weirdly Jason X gets mentioned in the two January interviews). Today I have an interview with director/produce/editor Ryan Denmark who's latest film is Romeo & Juliet vs The Living Dead (R&JvTLD). With a title like that you know it is going to be good fun.
Here is the next installment of Alan's marathon review through the Star Wars movies.
In the last issue of Empire magazine, there was a countdown of the top 500 films that have ever been made as voted for by film makers, critics and go-ers alike. Their aim? To filter down and sift out all the films that has ever been made and see which came out top.
It would therefore come to no surprise to you all that The Empire Strikes Back came in at No. 3 in the overall list. No mean feat in context and also, no surprise.
It is widely agreed that this film is the best Star Wars film that has been made in the double trilogies. Again, no surprise there, as this film has it all.
Not only does it have some light hearted humour to try and humanise the characters even more than the original, it also has large and grandiose set pieces – The Empire’s attack on Hoth, the Falcon’s escape through the asteroid field, Luke’s training on Dagobah, Cloud City in Bespin and the culmination of the film with the biggest ever twist known at the time and possibly since.
This film is the classic example of taking a good film and making it even better. There is a saying around Tinsletown that you can’t make a sequel better than the original. Not only did this film break that saying into a thousand pieces, it also set the bar for all other sequels to attempt to equal. To my mind, this has still to be done.
This film is more polished and the special effects are significantly improved from A New Hope. Also, the fact that George Lucas didn’t direct or solely write the screenplay for this is also a contributing factor. I’m not saying that Lucas is a poor director – THX 1138 and American Graffiti put paid to that – but I feel that when Kerschner took over the reins as director, he helped put it on an even keel and took the film forward.
Empire also served as an excellent vehicle for character development. We saw Luke emerging as this raw and fledgling-like Jedi, the love between Han and Leia blossoming in difficult circumstances, the introduction of new characters – Yoda, Lando and everyone’s personal favourite, Boba Fett.
However, the fulcrum of this whole film, and what basically propelled it as everyone’s favourite SW film, is the scene in the depths of Cloud City. Luke and Vader have had the most intense lightsaber fight and Luke has been battered and bruised by Vader’s supreme handling of the Force. Not only has Vader cornered Luke into an outpost, he has also taken his right hand as the fight culminated. Already, we can see the device that the two of them are connected in some way. And then the conversation:
“…Obi-wan never told you what happened to your Father”
“He told me enough, he told me that you killed him!”
“No, I am your Father!”
It is at that moment that got everyone hooked on the Star Wars franchise and has spawned four more sequels, countless merchandising opportunities and Leia in a gold bikini…God bless you George Lucas!
As with all reviews, you have to find a mid-level; look for the good as well as the bad. As I am sitting here, I’m racking my brains furiously trying to think of a negative on this film. I can quite easily say that I cannot think of one. This film quite rightly deserves its place in the top 3 films of all time.
10/10 – A timeless piece of film that forever brings out the schoolboy in all of us!
PS. If you want to know who beat Empire to the top two positions, Raiders of the Lost Ark was at No. 2 and The Godfather (Part 1) was at No. 1. Can’t really disagree with that!
What do you think of that?
Poor deluded fool thinks he has made it with a foxy lady. She takes him to a disco hidden within a slaughterhouse. The music starts, blood pumps from the sprinkler system and the vampires raise their arms. Enter Blade....with hilarious consequences!
Cheers to Alan S for suggesting this one. What do you think of this scene? What is your favourite fight scene?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the matter.
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Director: George Lucas
We now have a forum. That's right True Believer's. You asked for it you got it. Now you can discuss all the news, reviews and other things to your heart's content. Did you agree with Alan S's review of Episode 1 and 2? Do you think Outlander looks great or a big pile of Viking poo? Is Chisholm the hardest man in movies? All this and more is now at your fingertips.
Director: George "Ewok" Lucas Picture the scene; Friday the 16th August 1999 and myself and my girlfriend at the time go to the evening showing on the first day of the UK release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The obligatory popcorn and soft drink are bought for around the £15 mark, the screaming kids are kicking the back of your chair, the teenagers in front of you are talking far too loudly and are throwing popcorn kernels at the other group of teenagers sat two rows in front of them who are talking even louder. The 25 minutes of adverts for local Indian restaurants, carpet warehouses and local opticians flash past your eyes. The trailers for new and upcoming films – Austin Powers 2, South Park, The Exorcist: Anniversary Release goes by, with you making snap judgements based on 90 seconds of the best bits of the film. Then hush descends. The curtain’s at the side of the screen widen and the one at the top drops to give you the “envelope” perspective. The BBFC certificate comes up to say the film has been classified….then black. The drum roll at the start of the 20th Century Fox intro cracks into life followed by the Lucasfilm logo shining green to gold. Even through all these trials and tribulations, I turn to my girlfriend and I whisper “I’ve been waiting 16 years for this moment!”
So why, therefore, had I suffered the slings and arrows of a Liverpool cinema on a Friday evening? Because I had to. As a young man who was brought up on Star Wars, it was almost written into my male genetic code to do it.
And yet, I was disappointed. John Williams’ score seemed to seep through every single scene when it just didn’t need to be there. McGregor’s accent, although a good try, was no substitute for Guinness’ dulcet tones. Jake Lloyd was wooden and Neeson just didn’t “feel” like a Jedi. You will notice I have not mentioned Jar Jar as everyone feels exactly the same way about him (The image of a Magnum pistol and his temple spring to mind.)
And so, I persevered throughout the film. At the end, although I felt full, it was like I had eaten a Chinese banquet – I’d feel hungry again in 10 minutes time. I bought it on video (such a strange concept these days) and also bought it on DVD when it came out. The male genetic code could not be altered.
Fast forward, then, almost 9 years to the day of first watching the film – last Saturday to be exact (12th July) – and me and my flat mate talk about watching the films in chronological order from I to VI, with the Clone War animated series as a stop-gap between II and III. Now granted, this is NOT the first time I have seen the film since that fateful night in Liverpool, I have watched it many times before, but this is the first time I have regaled this story.
What struck me most was how much I actually enjoyed this film. What had seemed to singularly pass me by all the times I had watched it before were the “firsts” that had never been in the SW universe before.
This was the first time anyone had seen a “proper” lightsaber duel. Not the subtle prodding’s and parrying’s from the original trilogy, but a full whirling dervish that was Darth Maul and his double lightsaber and proper use of the Force whilst fighting. Seamless sections of the film where you actually felt like it was real – The Pod-race, for example, is greater than any car/chariot/motorbike chase I have ever seen. Coruscant, the city planet with it’s never ending ribbons of traffic and buildings reaching the sky. The Senate, the Jedi Council, the seeds of the Empire that we all came to fear and loathe as children….everything!
And that was when it hit me. Yes, this film is more directed to children with one of the main protagonists being a 10 year old boy and nearly every line of dialogue telling you what’s happening at that moment. But this is exactly it. Were we not once of that age; being swept away on a tidal wave of aliens, spaceships, princesses and villains? Of course we were and is was exactly who this film was being tilted at. What we also need to remember is that this is the first of a double trilogy. We need a starting point and from a certain point of view (sorry, pun intended!) this delivers it to a tee.
Sure, the acting is a bit ropey at times and the dialogue is, well, I believe Harrison Ford said it best when he said “George, you can type this shit, but you can’t say it!”
But taking these two and putting them to one side, this is a solid piece of work and is a worthy contributor to the Star Wars universe. For one of those with this film written into his genetic code, I truly have been turned back to the Light side of the Force.
